Line #28 Fridge/Redwall


1	[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]
2	* One example is the death of Cluny, though many readers will overlook it. [[spoiler:He was killed by the same bell that had earlier awakened him from his nightmares several times.]]
3	* Note that ''Cluny's Castle'' [[MeaningfulName has some meaning to it]]. LampshadeHanging, indeed. But of course this all makes sense [[ViewersAreGeniuses if the reader is acquainted with Cluny Abbey]].
4	** Brian says in his Q&A that it was a coincidence and he did not learn about Cluny Abbey until after he wrote the book. He thought the coincidence was creepy.
5	* ''Taggerung'' gives us Madd, a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mad]] old squirrel who suffered a serious head wound when vermin attacked and killed her family. Later on we meet Fwirl, a young squirrel who was orphaned when vermin attacked and killed her family. She recalls coming out of hiding and sitting near her mother, lying very still with a deep head wound. Hmmm...
6	* ''Marlfox'' is told in three acts, not three books like all the other ''Redwall'' novels. Apparently [[spoiler: Florian tweaked the narrative a bit so he and all the Noonvale Companions could act out the entire book as a play]]. To spare you further confusion, we'll just say Jacques was LeaningOnTheFourthWall.
7	* At one point in ''Outcast'', Veil angrily tells Bryony not to follow him, and that she should go back to Redwall, forget about him, and tell everyone else how bad he was. So technically, she's doing what he wanted at the end when she does exactly that.
8	** Also, Bryony didn't arrive in time to hear Veil tell Swartt that he considered him his enemy. Had she heard that, she may have had less ambiguity regarding his sacrifice.
9	* The Wearet from ''Mattimeo'' was described as a mustelid-like "primitive throwback", with no visible external ears and hardly any neck. To those familiar with extinct animals, this greatly brings up the image of a ''[[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Do_kJ6hX4AAuI9d?format=jpg&name=small cynodont]]'': a prehistoric proto-mammal resembling a small-to-medium-sized carnivoran, but distinctively lacked external ears as the ear bones were still a part of the jawbone.
10	* Bats have a VerbalTic of repeating the last couple of words in each sentence, each sentence. Living underground in caves most of their lives, including from infancy, the reason becomes clear; They've heard others speak, and the echo, from the time they were learning to speak. The echo was just mimicked the same as, and became part of, normal speech.
11	* Possibly unintentional Fridge {{Squick}} when the Abbeybeasts joke about eating bad Dibbuns:
12	-->"But if you got eated for bein’ naughty, why are you still ‘ere?"
13	-->Fottlink whispered knowingly. “Because I was very young.”
14	-->Brinky went into some more deep thought before speaking. “Very, very young an’ only a tiny likkle beast?”
15	** As in [[ToiletHumor small enough to pass right through]]... well, yeah.
16	* ''Doomwyte'': [[TearJerker Martin's sword is finally used to cut down a sycamore.]]
17	* Technically, everything Ublaz does with his Mad Eyes is at least closer to the realms of possibility than most hypnotist villains manage. Eye-fixation hypnosis really does work, albeit not simply by looking at the hypnotist's eyes. He isn't precisely mind-controlling the Monitors as reminding them he's more useful not being eaten, and while it's not possible to just tell someone to jump out of a window and have them do it, it could potentially be possible to increase the panic of someone who's already terrified of you to the point that the window or the end of the pier seems a good escape route. Snake charming by swaying movements is also a thing that actually works. Most important of all, hypnosis works best on those who ''believe'' it will work, and he's built up his great terrifying reputation for instant mind control...
18	* Redwall seems to have no religion, despite being called an Abbey. But look closer at their attitude towards Martin. Martin is idolized in-story (do we EVER see a tapestry of Abbess Germaine being stolen?), and it sounds like he ''single-handedly'' liberated ''everyone'' from a professional, well-armed ''army'' of vermin. His tapestry is immensely important to them, and his sword (which they treat like medieval monasteries treated saint's relics) is [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane ambiguously magic]]. His spirit actively warns the inhabitants when danger is near, he had an epiphany after a near-death experience, his gives out TheQuest routinely, is said to "aid the Abbey when danger is near", and is posthumosly addressed by characters for help. Saint Martin the Warrior, anybody?
19	* Anyone else get Nazism vibes from the white "Pure Ferrets" with thick German accents?
20	* The inhabitants of the Land of Ice and Snow don't have an issue with what this universe considers cannibalism (eating other sapient creatures). It's not just a way to make Gulo's horde seem more messed up; food is presumably a lot more scarce in the tundra, so eating the flesh of deceased fellows or enemies might actually be one of the more efficient ways of keeping themselves fed.
21	* The Marlfoxes and Pure Ferrets are both villainous royal families with unique appearances and [[BigScrewedUpFamily issues up the wazoo]], both of which can likely be attributed to them being highly inbred. You know, like most medieval royal families.
22	* In the animated series, the final battles of Martin vs. Badrang and Matthias vs. Cluny go a bit differently than in the book. In the book, Rose's end comes swiftly, with Badrang not even really trying to kill her as instead her neck either gets snapped or she receives a bad-enough head injury to kill her when she hits the wall. In the show, Badrang takes Rose hostage, and though she struggles to get away, she ends up being stabbed to death by Badrang before Martin can kill him, resulting in Martin carrying around the guilt of [[MyGreatestFailure his]] [[ILetGwenStacyDie failure]] to save her for the rest of his life. Matthias is all but stated to be a reincarnation of Martin and Cornflower to be one of Rose (hence the theme naming). In the book Cluny takes Friar Hugo captive during the fight but in the show it's Cornflower. There's every chance that history will repeat itself and Cornflower will die. But this time there's a happier ending as Matthias is able to do what Martin could not and gets Cluny to release his hostage before he kills him. Thus, in a way, it becomes Martin's [[MyGreatestSecondChance second chance]] for happiness.
23	* Martin's prophecy to Martha in ''Loamhedge'' is, as noted elsewhere, effectively him sending Bragoon and Saro on a suicide mission as the "cure" they find for Martha is simply them jury-rigging up a parchment telling her to believe in herself and walk through force of will after finding nothing. The two are introduced antagonizing a band of vermin creatures unprovoked and getting one of them killed, something that Martin himself would no doubt not approve of as he was against unnecessary bloodshed even of vermin creatures in life, as seen in ''Mossflower'' where Martin would always at least give enemies an ultimatum before resorting to violence. It's also stated they've been doing this for a while, enough to attain legendary status at Redwall. Martin may be the paragon of goodness, but clearly [[GoodIsNotSoft you don't want to push your luck too much in Mossflower Woods with him around, regardless of your species]].
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25	[[AC:FridgeLogic]]
26	* This may also fit under Fridge Horror, but... where do they get the milk to make all that cheese that's constantly mentioned as being present at feasts and such?
27	** There is a reference to plant-based milk at least once. It's called greensap milk or something such. Not very well versed on the art of cheesemaking but there are several kinds of plant-based milk you can buy and it may be possible to use it to make cheese, even if it is not like most cheeses we'd know. There's also no such plant as hotroot in real life; the best guess is it's a bookverse nickname for horseradish.
28	* Might overlap with Fridge Horror a little when it's mentioned that Martin's sword belt is made of leather when everyone in the world are ''animals''. Where did they get the leather?
29	** It's worth mentioning that the description of the belt being made of leather is made in the first book, which also mentions livestock. The leather probably came from a cow or horse or something. But considering the size difference, it raises the question of how they got the hide in the first place.
30	*** Scavenged from a dead creature? Which is gross, but plausible. Vermin could have more direct ways; [[NightmareFuel gather enough rats and they can eat larger creatures, including humans, alive]].
31	** Maybe it's fish leather. We know that, for special occasions, the Mossflower creatures ''will'' harvest fish for food, and in ''High Rhulain'' it's specifically stated that the sling given to Tiria by the Bager Lord Mandoral is made from the skin of a shark that the Long Patrol found washed up on the beach.
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33	[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
34	* You know that sword that Martin spent pretty much ''all'' of ''Martin the Warrior'' trying to get back from Badrang? Read the series in chronological order and you'll realize that [[spoiler: this was the same sword that was broken in the beginning of ''Mossflower'']], [[ShaggyDogStory which makes the ending even worse]].
35	* At the end of ''Loamhedge'', [[spoiler: Bragoon and Saro]] commit a HeroicSacrifice. However, if you look back on it, you'll notice it's also a SenselessSacrifice. If Horty, Springald and Fenna hadn't left the Abbey in the first place, [[spoiler: Bragoon and Saro]] probably wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves. And to make it worse, the only reason why either of them went to Loamhedge was to find something to make Martha walk again, but [[spoiler: Martha ends up walking ''on her own'' when Raga Bol's forces invade Redwall, meaning that Bragoon and Saro could've lived ''if they just stayed at the Abbey'']].
36	** Not really. It was explained in series that, had [[spoiler: Bragoon and Sarobando]] been at the Abbey for the coming of Raga Bol (or indeed for Baddred's crew before that), then the entire situation would not have been nearly as bad as it was, never leading to [[spoiler: that critical moment where Martha either needed to walk or the Abbot would die.]] It's still a rather twisted system (Given her characterization, Martha would have gladly chosen to remain chair-bound the rest of her life if she knew they were going to die to fix her), but it at least makes sense.
37	*** [[BrokenAesop No, it doesn't]]. If all this is true, then that means that [[spoiler:Martin the Warrior's spirit knew that Raga Bol and Badredd would attack Redwall. Which means he intentionally had Bragoon and Saro sent away ''just so they could invade Redwall''. Which means Martin knew that Bragoon and Saro were probably going on a SuicideMission (which turned out to be true). Which means that if they had just stayed at Redwall, Junty the Cellarhog and several other Redwallers might have lived and Raga Bol and Badredd would not have invaded Redwall, or at the very least, got so far inside Redwall.]] Overall, the lives of dozens of Redwallers apparently isn't as important as [[spoiler:making a single wheelchair-bound hare magically walk again due to an intense amount of stress and adrenaline]]. [[FridgeHorror Do you see how fucked up that is?]]
38	*** You're trying to say that you know possible outcomes better that a character who explicitly sees the future. [[spoiler: Saro and Bragoon are not invincible.]] Without the prophecy, they could have been just killed by Raga Bol's gang, and reliance on them could have caused Redwallers to botch the defense. That's assuming that Martin can actually ''change'' and ''choose'' the future. The more specific and precise prophecies in a particular world are, [[FridgeHorror the more frightening implications regarding the existence of free will they carry]]. And Redwall has rather precise prophecies. Martin might act in a certain way because he already knows he'll act in a certain way, and some instances when he undertakes clearly fruitless actions (like trying to scare off Cluny or Razzid) might be seen as confirming that.
39	* Building on the above comments, Martha suddenly being able to walk again makes more sense when you remember that, earlier on in the book, it was implied that the reason she was paralyzed was because of trauma, making her paralysis a psychosomatic condition. Nothing's wrong with her body, it's all due to mental factors. This becomes FridgeHorror when you realize that, by removing two competent fighters, Martha's only surviving family and two of her close friends from the Abbey premises, Martin created a high-stress situation so bad that Martha's brain had to throw away her previous trauma at an attempt at self-preservation. Also becomes FridgeLogic when you realize that Martha hadn't used her legs since she was a child, so her leg muscles should have atrophied to the point it would be physically impossible for her to stand, let alone walk.
40	** It's quite possible the Abbey dwellers were giving her legs regular physical therapy to keep atrophy from setting in, something that is common with victims of paralysis both temporary and permanent in the real world. Her legs may not have worked ''well'' but the muscles and tendons would still be getting regular use if one of the healers in the infirmary was exercising them.
41	* Speaking of, Swartt barely acknowledges Bluefen is alive. The odds of Veil's conception being fully consensual on her part are low.
42	* In ''Mariel of Redwall'' again, Rawnblade annihilates every living creature on board of the ''Waveblade'' in a fit of [[TheBerserker Bloodwrath]]. This carnage is already horrific enough - before you consider the fact, that every other ship in Gabool's fleet we see in any detail was crewed not only by searats, but also their oarslaves, and while the ''Waveblade'' is not explicitly stated to be the same, she is also not explicilty stated to differ in this regard.
43	** Though this very likely fell under "I didn't consider that" on the author's part. But the books clearly state regardless that Badgers under the bloodwrath will kill anything in their path, even allies.
44	* ''The Sable Quean'', sees the reappearance of the Flitcheye. Rather than killing them, the protagonists decide to take all the Flitcheye, tie them up in a grove, and burn piles of their own sedative herbs all around said grove. Then, they cheerfully continue on with their adventure. The idea is supposed to be "teehee, now you'll all wake up with killer headaches, that'll show you" ...the characters don't seem to realize that administering massive doses of a sedative and then walking away is a surefire way to kill someone.
45	** They are outside in the open air at the time, they have a chance. Still not good for them.
46	*** "The overhanging willows acted like an enveloping canopy, catching the smoke and holding it as it grew more dense." It was a crude gas chamber. They have a chance, but there's no way they're all making it out of there alive.
47	* The only witnesses to Brother Hal's death were Dingeye and Thura, who fled and died soon after, missing their chance to tell the truth to the Abbeydwellers. Samkim and Arula likely went their whole lives thinking the stoats they'd been befriending had intentionally murdered an Abbey mouse.
48	* Mokug's backstory is rather disturbing when translated into human terms, as it involves an evil rich man picking a small boy as his slave because said boy is cute and blond. {{Squick}}. Highly doubtful Sarengo actually wanted him as anything worse than decoration, but...
49	* Read [[https://www.cracked.com/blog/5-sociopathic-assholes-disguised-as-adorable-animals/ this]] and then notice that Skipper's sentence was cut off when he was saying what he found Folgrim doing to that dead rat. [[ILoveTheDead It could have been so very much worse than eating him.]] Granted, that was almost certainly ''not'' what Mr. Jacques was insinuating, and from what we see, Redwall otters hopefully do not operate like that. ''[[BrainBleach Hopefully.]]'' (Wrong kind of otters, which might help. ''Enhydra lutris'' doesn't live in Europe, the "sea otters" of Britain are ''Lutra lutra'' that happen to live around the coast.)
50	* In the AnimatedAdaptation, Matthias sweeps Asmodeus' head neatly off. In the book, we get several sentences of AndThisIsFor, and "He struck until his paws ached and the sword fell from them". The implication being that he hacked the snake's head off ''slowly'', inch by inch, which actually makes a lot more sense considering the size gap.
51	* One really hopes poor Felch's name means something different in the Juska language.
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53	[[AC:Fridge TearJerker]]

Context Fridge / Redwall